All we want for the holidays is world peace and happiness — and for people to know the difference between news stories and op-eds — but apparently our wish list makes us “impossible” to shop for. But we’re not! We have other things on our list, things that fit in a pretty box or gift bag or can be swaddled in shiny wrapping paper with a big old bow. But we wanted to let you know we’re good people first, not just materialistic, consumerist nobodies. And hey, look at this curated list of things to buy and places to shop that we’ve made. They’re all local! Local places and local makers! We are good people after all because good people shop local, right?
New Harbert Candles
Looking for an unusual holiday gift idea?
Hit the streets.
In other words, buy one of Brooke Beuzieron’s candles, which are named after Memphis streets and feature scents Beuzieron, owner of New Harbert Candles, associates with particular streets.
“I asked my friends, ‘If you were to pick, what would be the scent for your street?’” Beuzieron says. “And ‘What would you want it to smell like?’”
Street scents include Poplar, which Beuzieron says is “very floral. It has aloe leaves, cactus, and some hydrangea. A little bit of gardenia.” The scent makes her think of “Poplar in the summer. All the trees and pretty foliage when you’re driving down the prettiest parts of Poplar close to Overton Square.”
“Harbert” was made to smell like a Central Gardens library. “People just have these beautiful old school libraries you don’t really see in new homes anymore.”
Vance is a popular candle, Beuzieron says. “That one is citrus and mandarin. Vance, to me, is a fun street,” she says. “That’s just such an all-encompassing, well-loved happy scent. I thought it fit with a street that covers almost all of Midtown and Downtown.”
Making the candles began in 2019 as a hobby for friends and transitioned to a business, says Beuzieron, who is a physical therapist. “I live in Midtown and so do most of my friends and families. So, naturally, it started that way.”
Avalon, Poplar, and McLean Boulevard were among her first candles. “Over the years, friends and family moved. Customers started expanding with more streets.”
Beuzieron also is featuring holiday street candles this year. Peabody Hearth is a “cranberry spice scent with a little bit of fireside. Reminiscent of big houses on Peabody. Kind of old and classic. They have old, beautiful Midtown fireplaces.”
Crosstown Christmas is “more Midtown. Clove, apple, orange. A ‘simmer pot.’ All the different Christmas smells.”
Beuzieron’s candles are available by “porch pickup,” ending December 21st, and shipping, through December 15th. For information and to order candles, visit newharbertcandles.com.
— Michael Donahue
Joe’s Wines & Liquors: Joe’sBeer Nutz Club
In these troubled times, there’s one thing the world truly needs this holiday season and just cannot get enough of: beer.
Ice. Cold. Beer. Pulled from a Rocky Mountain stream. Guaranteed to never fill you up and never let you down. Guaranteed to smooth out those holiday dinners. And when your MAGA uncle starts going on about “how Trump cleaned up Memphis,” beer gives you an excuse to step away and grab a fresh one. Ah, beer. Is there anything it can’t do?
Beer truly is the one thing that will satisfy almost everyone on your gift list this year. And it’s something people will actually want.
Yeah, but how do you gift beer? Wrap a sixer of Ultras? That’ll look great under the tree.
No. Here’s how you do it. Go to Joe’s Wines & Liquor (or to their website) and ask about the Joe’s Beer Nutz Club. (Yes, spelled like that.) For $180 (or $15 a month), Joe’s picks out two or three (or even sometimes five) new or unusual beers they think you (or that beer lover on your gift list) should try. (Lots of parentheticals happening here.) Then, you just head to Joe’s to pick them up each month.
I’ve been a member and can tell you the monthly pickup is a fun little Midtown ritual, especially when you’ve forgotten to do it. You’re cruising Poplar (probably to go to Home Depot for some dumb thing), and it hits you: “Oh, yeah! I need to pick up my beer club!” You walk in, give them your club number, and you walk out with a sack of fresh, delicious beer. No payment necessary.
The beers are always quality and always different. I would never pick most of the beers. So Joe’s Beer Nutz Club always keeps you trying something new. — Toby Sells
Give the Gift of Nature
Here’s a great way to give to your city and to its environmental health: Support Overton Park and the Overton Park Conservancy! Those lovely Old Forest trails and that cool little golf course cost money to maintain and the venerable green space at the heart of Memphis can always use our support. What better way to help the park than by giving some cool park gear to your friends and family for Christmas?
The Overton Park online store opened in 2020, and in the interim it has become stocked with all manner of goods, including hats, hoodies, T-shirts, bandanas, tote bags, tumbler cups, and more.
And if you really want to celebrate or honor someone special, you can choose to dedicate a rustic wooden bench with a memorial plaque in the Old Forest State Natural Area — a thoughtful and long-lasting tribute nestled in Memphis’ preeminent green space. For more information: overtonpark.org
— Bruce VanWyngarden
Outphits
When Sophia Coovert pulls back the sliding doors of her Y2K showroom, I know I am in a special place. I was raised to envy the wardrobes of Hannah Montana, Cher Horowitz, and Carrie Bradshaw — revered fashionistas whose closets were as essential to their storytelling as their dialogue. To say I had been transported to a fashion lover’s mecca would be an understatement. Closets like this are only seen on shows like Gossip Girl and shown off at the discretion of pop culture’s famed it-girls. However, Coovert has found a way to bring a piece of nostalgic heaven to Memphis.
As I observe the racks filled with vintage fashion staples such as Ed Hardy caps and remnants of Coach’s colorful logo craze era, it’s hard to pick a favorite item in the showroom. However as I begin to settle on the pink fuzzy Chanel crossbody on the wall, my eyes fall on a bobblehead of Bridget Marquardt in her The Girls Next Door likeness.
With 2000s nostalgia having a major moment, it’s remarkable that such a gem was able to make its way from thrifting shelves to the hands of Coovert. But that’s just a part of her magic — finding coveted pieces to help shoppers build a stylish and sustainable collection.
One of Coovert’s favorite parts about working with vintage pieces is educating patrons on quality pieces and helping younger shoppers transition out of fast fashion.
“I love being a transitioning factor in that,” Coovert says. “A lot of my customers are younger, and of course when you’re young you don’t have the budget to be ordering expensive things, but that doesn’t mean you have to shop the fast fashion websites. Vintage doesn’t have to be expensive.”
The 23-year-old has grown from selling pieces from her apartment to renting a suite located at 1469 Poplar Avenue. The suite will be open to the public without the usual appointment-necessary caveat for Outphits’ Black Friday Sale. From Friday, November 28th, to Saturday, November 29th, shoppers will get the chance to purchase inventory for 40 percent off.
This sale also serves as a moving sale, with Coovert planning to relocate to a bigger location Downtown in 2026.
“It’s been really cool experiencing [my business’ growth] and seeing it in myself as well,” Coovert says. “Like, wow, I can really sell some stuff, and I can really help girls and women feel comfortable in their skin.”
Outphits will be open from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. on Friday, November 28th, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 29th. — Kailynn Johnson
Wild Wood Studio
Get your friends and family a gift that is lit. Truly. Wild Wood Studio makes the littest of all tabletop and floor lamps right here in the city, all while operating out of a two-car garage. Using mostly salvaged wood collected from the streets of Memphis, Dylan Haskins creates one-of-a-kind lamps (and other works) with organic, natural shapes as determined by the wood and its grain. Never afraid to let the wood’s natural imperfections remain, Haskins shapes these pieces on a wood lathe, sometimes dabbling in wood burning and power carving. Meanwhile Haskins’ wife Adrienne, a photographer, makes complementary shades.
Wild Wood Studio’s products are available to purchase at wildwoodstudio.co or in person at Slowdown Dry Goods, 655 Marshall Avenue. — Abigail Morici
Tequila With a Conscience
These are hard times for being festive. Can the holidays be fun, even intoxicating, yet somehow address the need for sociopolitical engagement, given the dire state of the world? The answer is a resounding yes if the friends and family you’re shopping for like tequila. As the Flyer’s readers know, thanks to Michael Donahue, the Alma del Jaguar (“Spirit of the Jaguar”) line of tequilas, with its business headquarters in East Memphis, lets you sip your “tila” in good conscience. Spirits entrepreneur McCauley Williams, owner of Morningside Brands, was inspired by his uncle’s commitment to wild jaguar preservation in northern Mexico, and from the start his tequila’s earnings have been dedicated to supporting such efforts, donating proceeds from sales and leading fundraising initiatives.
Every bottle you purchase supports major conservation organizations like the Northern Jaguar Project in Sonora, Mexico, whose mission is “to preserve and recover the world’s northernmost population of the jaguar, its unique natural habitats, and native wildlife under its protection as a flagship, keystone, and umbrella species.” So, while the jaguar is the charismatic predator serving as the face of their work, the Northern Jaguar Project is really about preserving an entire ecosystem.
Furthermore, Alma del Jaguar is intimately linked to Mexico’s Jalisco region, where it’s made by the Vivanco family (now in their fifth generation of tequila production) and its patriarch, Sergio, who believes that “true flavor comes from the earth.” So the brand also supports the legacy of a living human culture and its time-honored traditions, distinctly more eco-friendly than industrial approaches. “The region’s iconic red, iron-rich soil create the perfect canvas for cultivating agave that’s sweeter and richer,” the company’s Facebook page notes, and that agave is then cooked in stone and brick ovens, pressed in a roller mill, and fermented with wild yeast and deep well water, all organic.
The results have tequila enthusiasts singing the product’s praises, with The Daily Pour noting of the brand’s Añejo variety that “the front palate kicks off with hints of rose petal, fig, and plum before giving way to churned butter and caramel.” Sounds like the perfect match for cranberries and pumpkin pie.
Alma del Jaguar varieties are available at most Memphis liquor stores or can be ordered online at almadeljaguar.com. — Alex Greene
